Maria Asencion "Chonita" Arevalo

MARIA ASENCION “CHONITA” AREVALO
Maria Asencion “Chonita” Arevalo, 93, of San Juan, Texas peacefully embraced the loving arms of God on December 16, 2015, at Legend Transitional Healthcare in McAllen. Chonita was born the daughter of Juan Gonzalez and Elojia Villarreal in Kingsville, Texas on January 20, 1922. She was a smart, beautiful, and virtuous woman whose independent spirit and character made her unforgettable. During her life, Chonita was a devoted and loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. As a mother, Chonita was the matriarch of a family of 15 children. She loved her children and enjoyed recounting with finite detail the day each one was born. During the family’s many years as migrants traveling to and from Washington State, Oregon, Idaho and Utah, and throughout her life, Chonita was an accomplished cook, baker, home manager, seamstress, nurse, barber, teacher, financial manager, and bookkeeper. Because the concept of family was so important to Chonita, she taught many migrant ladies to sew boys and girls clothes and cut hair as a way to help their families. Chonita was always ready to extend a helping hand to other migrant families who needed food, clothes, shelter, or a kind ear or heart. While she may not have been an avid churchgoer, Chonita knew God, loved God and acknowledged that the Lord had always blessed and protected her family, and for this, she was humbly and eternally grateful. She served her Lord in the way that best suited her personal relationship with God. She enjoyed singing church hymns and old traditional Mexican songs, and would do so for anybody who would listen. In her golden years, with great delight she liked to share stories about herself as she was growing up, about her children, about her husband, about their migrant travels, and about the many friends she met along her journey on earth. Chonita would tell her children that she wanted to live long enough to reach 100. She responded to God’s call to go home 36 days short of her 94th birthday. Chonita is preceded in death by her parents; siblings, Maria Esperanza Hernandez, Ines Medrano, Jose Gonzalez, and Juan Gonzalez, Jr.; her husband, Trinidad Arevalo, Sr.; two sons, Trinidad Arevalo, Jr. and Rolando Arevalo. She is survived by her children, Maria Elena (†Candido) Duran Sr. of Albany, Oregon; Angelica Guzman (Baudelio) Guzman, Olga Arevalo, Lucia (Jesus) Martinez, Arnold (†Josefina) Arevalo, Yolanda Arjona, all of San Juan, Armando (Mary) Arevalo, Sr. of Edinburg, Rogelio (Consuelo) Arevalo of Clearwater, Texas, Roel (Julia) Arevalo of Sugarland, Texas, Jaime Javier (Dora) Arevalo of San Juan, Alma Alisia (Gilbert) Tagle of Donna, Anna Lee Arevalo (Alex Alvarado, Jr.) of Richmond, Texas, and Brenda (Eleazar) Moreno of San Juan; numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren. Visitation will be held from 5 to 9 p.m., with a 7 p.m. prayer service today, December 17, 2015, at Memorial Funeral Home in San Juan. Funeral service will take place at 10 a.m. Friday, December 18, 2015, at Los Wesleyanos United Methodist Church in San Juan. Interment will follow at Palm Valley Memorial Gardens in Pharr. Funeral services are under the direction of Memorial Funeral Home in San Juan.